My name is Jim Crawford and I live in Cincinnati, Ohio (USA). I have been collecting miniature bottles since 1967, and I currently have just over 8100 mini bottles on display in our "Bottle Room". I Retired from The Procter & Gamble Company in 1998 as a manager in Information Technology. I traveled about 70% of my time when I first started with P&G. At that time, Airlines would actually give you 2 mini liquor bottles free! I would drink one and put the other one on a little shelf in our house when I got home. Before long I got hooked on mini bottles.
Like most collectors, I started out grabbing any mini bottle that looked unique for my collection. Space quickly became an issue so I started to be more selective and decided to specialize in Non-Scotch Whiskies (people find this strange given my ancestors came from Scotland in 1851), Tequilas, and Vodkas.
My real passion, however, is to get mini bottles from as many different countries as possible. I currently have 227 different countries represented in my collection, and I am now down to only 10 countries that I still need for my collection. These 10 countries are Bangladesh, Benin, British Honduras (the name of Belize before it's independence), Ceylon (the name of Sri Lanka before it's independence), Ghana, Laos, Soviet Latvia (before 1990), Nigeria, St. Christopher (the name of St Kitts before it's independence), and Tajikistan. Please keep me in mind if you ever come across minis from any of these countries.
I became active in the Midwest Miniature Bottle Collectors (MMBC) club in 1985 when I was shocked to find out I was not the only "Crazy" person who collected mini bottles for a hobby. In the last 15 years I have held various positions in the MMBC, including it's President on 2 separate occasions.
My wife Nancy and I have traveled extensively since 2000, & and have been fortunate enough to meet many great collectors from around the world in our travels. If you are ever around Cincinnati, Ohio; you will have to plan on stopping by for a visit.Contact DetailsWebsite: http://jimsbottles.com/Email: My Favorite Bottle
One of my favorite miniatures is a bottle of Old Vat Finest Old Whiskey that was produced in Angola sometime in the late 1980's. I found this treasure in a Flee Market (Swap Meet) for less than $1. I have never seen another mini liquor bottle made in Angola.
Click on the image below for Jim's favorite bottle